Let a man consider that God is always looking at him from
heaven, that his actions are everywhere visible to the divine eyes and are
constantly being reported to God by the Angels. . In order that he may be
careful about his wrongful thoughts, therefore, let the faithful brother
say constantly in his heart, "Then shall I be spotless before Him, if I have kept myself from my iniquity."
--from The Rule of St. Benedict

Introduction

Christian monasticism is a structured, ascetic
pursuit of the Christian life. It involves a return to God through
attention to the classic spiritual disciplines of silence, chastity,
prayer, fasting, confession, good works, obedience, and vigils. The
monastic experience--from monas (Gk. "alone")--is an
inward and solitary one, though it may be practiced in community. The
nature of the monastic pursuit is one that involves ora
et labora (Lt. "prayer and work"), a submission of every
aspect of one's life to a practiced awareness of God's presence.

Most monks and nuns were not priests, relying on the
local parish to administer the sacraments; however, often isolated
communities could seek to have one or more members ordained if needed.
Likewise, bishops have often been chosen from monastic leadership.

Christian monasticism, while primarily concerned
with the individual pursuit of the "spiritual life," that is an
ascetic pursuit of God, has also arguably been responsible for:

the survival of education and culture during the
period following the fall of the Western Roman Empire;

the perpetuation of important Greco-Roman and
early Christian manuscripts in monastery scriptoriums;

the development of important early medicines in
rudimentary pharmacies;

the beginnings of Western capitalism with early
advances in agricultural production, manufacturing, corporation law,
and labor division;

important advances in art, music, and cooking;

social stability in Western and Eastern Europe,
often serving as an outlet for the second sons and daughters of
wealthy aristocratic families;

and for important reform movements within
Christendom.

The history of Christian monasticism, especially in
Western Christianity, has been one of a cycle of reformation, stability,
growing laxness and wealth, followed by new reformation, and so on.

Early Monasticism

I. Possible
Predecessors

Nazirites (Numbers
6:1-21): Nazirites were of two types: those who were dedicated from
birth to be a Nazirite (e.g. Samson and possibly John the Baptist) and
those who undertake the vow for a limited time (Paul may have done
this, cf. Acts 18:18). The Nazirite’s spiritual disciplines included
not drinking wine or eating grapes, not cutting their hair until the
end of the vow, extra strict rules for ritual defilement, and certain
sacrificial dedications.

Qumran
Community: Jewish ascetical communities
located in Qumran (
Dead Sea
). They are primarily remembered because of The Manual of
Discipline and The Damascus Document. They were led by an
examiner, practiced communal ownership, keep strict rituals and an
office of prayer, and practiced expulsion for violations of Torah.

Essenes:
Described by Josepheus, the Essenes were mystical Jewish sects in the
late 2nd century BC through the 1st century AD.
Often associated with the
Qumran
community, they practiced a number of ascetical practices, including
communal ownership, ritual bathing, isolation, special oaths, and food
practices. They also seriously studied Jewish mystical and
apocalyptical writings of the period.

Therapeutae:
Early Jewish aesthetic hermits and communities described by Philo of
Alexandria in the 1st century AD who lived in
Egypt
. They practiced solitude, ritual cleansing, prayer, fasting, etc.
Philo saw them as examples of the contemplative existence. Apparently,
their community was deeply involved in Jewish allegorical and mystical
readings of the Old Testament and Apocryphal works, such as Enoch.

II. Medieval legends

Joseph
of Arimathea: Medieval legends believed
that Joseph of Arimathea founded the first monastic community in
Glastonbury
somewhere between 37 to 63 AD. The Grail legend is often associated
with this. No real evidence exists for these claims, though Christian
influence was relatively early in the
British Isles
.

Daughters
of Philip (Acts 21:7-9): The four
unmarried daughters of Philip the Evangelist were considered by
medieval monks as early ascetics.

III. Models

Jewish
(Old Testament) Prophets: Elijah and Elisha are often cited as
early examples of the monastic ideal

John
the Baptist: Called John the Forerunner in Eastern Christianity,
John’s particular rigorous lifestyle and prophetic commitment to
“decrease as he increases” were seen as modeling the monastic
life.

Mary:
Mary’s simple obedience, radical submission to God’s will,
humility and silence, as well as her chastity were all qualities seen
as aspects of the ascetic life. Almost all medievals believed Mary to
be a perpetual virgin, and this understanding became part of the
prizing of virginity as a higher, more heavenly life and as a living
martyrdom and espousal to Christ.

Paul:
Paul’s celibacy and tentmaking were prized as monastic.

Jesus:
Jesus’ celibacy and prayer life were seen as the highest of models.

IV. Early Types

Eremetics:
Hermits living alone, either living off what others brought them or by
a simple means of subsistence existence, such as ropemaking. Paulus
the Hermit (c. 230-342) was the first Christian monk known by name to
history. Eventually, many adopted a modified eremitic existence,
living as hermits but near each other for occasional gatherings and
support. Marcarius first encouraged this form of living, nicknamed
“the larvae.”

Cenobitics:
cenobium (Lt. “community): A gathered community of monks
living together and following a common rule. Pachomius of Egypt
(292-346) it is traditionally believed gathered the first community of monks, though this may have been one simply one of several loose associations.

V. The Desert Fathers

Some of the earliest, if not the earliest Christian
monastics, the desert monks of
Egypt
lived in both eremitic and cenobitic fashion.

Icon of St. Anthony

It is often claimed that they
arose as a reaction to luxury and laxness after Christianity was declared
legal and then favored in the
Roman Empire
. Anthony of Egypt, one of the earliest desert hermits, is sometimes known
as the father of monasticism, though this is a bit of a misnomer, since
other monks were practicing before him, yet the title is justified in a
way, for his example, especially made popular through Athanasius’ Life
of Anthony, inspired countless numbers to attempt the monastic life.
His choice to enter the harsh life of the desert, his strict practice, and
tales of his spiritual warfare became a call to ascetical heroics.

Shapers
of Later Monasticism

St. Benedict

Basil of Caesurea
(c.330-379): Considered the founder of Eastern monasticism, Basil (also
called Basil the Great) along with his older sister, Macrina, helped give
shape to the monastic life in the East. His Aesceticaprovided the foundational rules that still today guide the Eastern
Orthodox practice. Basil is also known as one of the key theologians and
preachers of the period and served as a bishop the last seven years of his
life.

Benedict of Nursia
(480-543): Considered the father of Western monasticism, Benedict
originally took up the life of a hermit, but after being surrounded by
numerous others, he founded a communal house at Monte Cassino.

His Rulebecame the foundational guide for Western practice ("Therefore,
we intend to establish a schola [Lt. "school" or
"combat unit"] for the Lord's service."). Almost all
subsequent reform movements in the medieval period saw themselves as
trying to recover the original purity of Benedictine practice. The Rule
gave shape to the characteristic shape of Western monasticism. Some of the
following are key aspects:

Benedictine monks made three
vows:

Poverty: communal ownership of all property; simple dress and meals

Chastity: celibacy;
self-control; pure thought life and body

Obedience: submission to all
superiors and all monks who have previously entered the order

2. Monks ordered their day about
the office of prayer: eight hours each with characteristic emphasis:

3. Daily life was divided between
prayer, work, and study. Labor was meant to keep each house
self-sufficient and free of idleness, though in later centuries, manual
work was often taken care of by local peasants. Communal meetings,
sleeping arrangements, and dining all enforced a community discipline.
Silence and times of solitude were regularly practiced, as well.

At its height in 5th
through 7th centuries, the Celtic monastic tradition was a
different one than that of Benedict, and consequently, had some
differences in practice and emphasis, including the practice of
peregrination, wandering on land or sea without direction or planning,
totally dependent upon God’s purposes. They observed a different
calendar than that of
Rome,and possibly some married monks were allowed. Celtic monasteries were
also known for their rich book production and early missionary work in the
British Isles and
France
. Many of their scholars would form the backbone of the Carolingian
Renaissance in future centuries. Important early Celtic missionaries
include Patrick of Ireland (c. 390-461), Columbanus (543-615) who founded
Iona, and Aidan (d. 651) who founded Lindisfarne in
Northumbria
. At the Synod of Whitby in 633, the Celtic orders adopted Western
practices, including the Western calendar.

Reform Movements

I. Cluny

The Benedictian monastery at Cluny,
Burgandy was
established in 909/910 by the Duke of Aquitaine to be an abbey free of
secular feudal control. For 200 years it functioned as a center of reform
and social stability, and it was ruled by a succession of seven powerful
and intelliegent abbots, including Breno and Peter the Venerable. The
houses associated with Cluny (314 by the 12th century) practiced a more
centralized form of governance in being answerably to the mother house at
Cluny, a power structure not shared by the larger Benedictine order. Cluny
became a great center of art and liturgy, responsible for the training
of popes and other important church leaders. Eventually, the Cluniacs
became enriched with their social wealth and influence.

Destroyed in the 18th century, the
abbey-church at Cluny was an immense structure and became famous in the
high medieval period. 555 feet in length, it was the largest church until
St. Peter's at Rome was constructed. "It consisted of five naves, a
narthex, or ante-church, and several towers. Commenced by St. Hugh, the
sixth abbot, in 1089, it was finished and consecrated by Pope Innocent II
in 1131-32, the narthex being added in 1220" (Catholic Encyclopedia).

St. Bruno

II.
Carthusians

Begun by Bruno in 1084, the Carthusian
order adopted their own rule, The Statutes, in opposition to the
Benedictine rule. Bruno began the first house in Chartreuse in the Alps.
The Carthusian order is still considered the strictest order of the Roman
Catholic Church. They refused the dormitory-style common sleeping
quarters of Cluny for single-cells, opting for a very simple, spare
existence, hard manual labor, poor diet and clothing. The Carthusian order
stressed a simplicity or absence of insignia. In many ways, the
Carthusians returned to the early desert Cenobitic organization. The order
famously claims "nunquam reformata quia nunquam deformata" ("It
needs no reform that has never been deformed.")

III.
Cistercians

In 1098, Robert of Mosleme left the Benedictine
order to begin a reform movement at Citeaux. By papal order, Robert was
shortly replaced by Alberic, who died in 1109, then by Stephen Harding who
ruled until 1134. The order stressed a return to the Benedictine rule in
its original strictness, and as a result, they were in tension with Peter
the Venerable at Cluny. They stressed manual, agricultural work, located
themselves in wilderness self-contained retreats, and refused gifts from
the wealthy. Bernard of Clarivaux, one of the most famous monks of the
medieval period, took the order from 30 to 280 houses.

In the 13th century, Cistercian wool industry called
for the creation of an order of lay brothers, relatively uneducated field
workers and herdsmen, associated with the houses. The Cistercians adopted
a polity half-way between the centralization of the Cluniacs and the
complete independence of Benedictine houses. Cistercian abbots, elected by
each house, were then subject to the yearly meeting of the chapter, the
association of houses presided over by the Citeaux abbot.

IV. Augustinians

In the 11th century, a number of
independent monastic houses sprung up, ordering themselves under the Rule
of St. Augustine. They were consolidated between 1243 and 1256 ("The
Great Union") by Pope Innocent IV. Inspired by the ideal of
"modesty and service," the OSA (Order of Saint Augustine) has
operated schools, hospitals, retirement centers, and music foundations.

V. The Franciscans & The
Dominicans

Franciscans: Begun by Francis and Clare of Assisi in
the early 13th century as a preaching order concerned with the
poor, the order was known for its work with the sick, destitute,and
disenfranchised, as well as its unquestioning obedience to the pope.

St. Francis

Under Francis’ charismatic
leadership, the order expanded rapidly, and became known for its emphasis
on evangelical poverty, winsome compassion, and missions. During but
especially after Francis’ lifetime, the order became divided into
stricter and laxer parties. The scholar Bonaventure led the Franciscans
from 1257 to 1274, seeking to chart a moderate course, though condemning
the excesses of the stricter Observationist or “Spiritual” party. The
Spiritual Franciscans, along with strong mystical and apocalyptic beliefs,
held to the doctrine of apostolic poverty, believing that Christ and the
apostles owned nothing. This position was declared heretical in 1322. The
Franciscan order in the following centuries spun off a number of separate
sects and other orders.

St. Dominic

Dominicans: The
Order of Preachers (Ordo Praedicatorum) was founded by Dominiac in
the 13th century as a medicant, or preaching, order. It was
begun with an apologetical goal in mind—to convert Muslims, Jews, and
heretics to the Catholic faith. Dominiac stressed vacility with vernacular
languages, a strong academic education, especially in theology, and a life
of simplicity and poverty so as to avoid hypocrisy. Two of its most famous
members were the philosophers Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas. The
order grew quickly in its first centuries of existence and its influence
expanded as its members were chosen for church offices. Eventually, the
order was charged with running the Roman Inquisition.

Knights Templar
& Other Military Orders

Existing for about two centuries (1096-1314), the Knights Templar was the
most well-known of the military orders. They were constituted as a
monastic order after the First Crusade as an inspiration of Bernard of
Clarivaux. The order was made-up of celibate lifetime members and
temporary members, often married, from the knightly class who were mostly
uneducated. The order also pioneered modern banking methods, such as
credit and checking, to raise funds for the crusades, as well as to assist
pilgrimages to the
Holy Land
. They served in the
Holy Land
campaigns, but eventually were accused of heresy by Philip the Fair and
disbanded by Pope Clement V.

The Order of Christ, begun in
1318, succeeded the Knights Templar and absorbed many of its knights. It
settled in
Portugal
. Over the centuries, it was reformed as both a religious order answerable
to the pope and a civil order answerable to the king. The Knights Hospitaller, a 12th century order working with the sick,
after the First Crusade divided itself into two parts, the newer one
pledged to protecting pilgrimages to the Holy Land. They also fought with
distinction in the
Holy Land
. Eventually, they absorbed much of the property of the Knights Templar,
and its branches became military enclaves in later centuries, such as the
Knights of Malta.

Timeline

251-356

Life of Anthony

320

Pachomius (293-346) begins one of the first communal
monasteries (Tabennisi, Egypt)

c. 330

Amoun and Macarius also found monasteries in
the Egyptian desert

370

Basil, Aescetica

386

Jerome founds monasteries in Bethlehem

390-459

Symeon
the Stylite (c. 390 – 459) lives atop a column in Syria

401

Augustine of Hippo, On
the Works of Monks , a work stressing value of manual labor

453

Patrick
commissioned as missionary to Ireland

c. 526

Benedict writes his Rule

c. 563

Columbanus founds monastery at Iona, Scotland

597

Augustine (of Canterbury) sent to British isles
as missionary by Pope Gregory I

635

Aidan
founds Lindisfarne

c. 663

Synod of Whitby resolves differences between
Celtic and Roman Christianity

731

Bede, History
of the English Church and People

793

Vikings sack Lindisfarne

909

Berno founds Cluny.

936

Abbot Laffredus of Farfa poisoned by two monks
for trying for enforcing the Benedictine rule

c. 943

Dunstan calls for monastic reform in England

1084

Bruno founds the Carthusians

1098

Robert Molêsme

founds Cistercian order

1099

First
Crusade captures Jerusalem

1115

Bernard begins Cistercian abbey at Clairvaux

1118

The Knights Templar form in Jerusalem

1127

Bernard of Clairvaux, Apologia
– prophetic critique of the Cluniacs

1128

Knights
Templar adopt that Cistercian rule

1170

-1221

Life of
Dominic

1181/82-1226

Life of
Francis of Assisi

1210

Pope
Innocent III

recognizes the Franciscans

1215

Fourth
Lateran Council calls for monastic reform and regulation

1217

Pope
Honorius III licenses the Order of Preachers (Dominicans

)

1221

Death of
St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order

1233

Dominicans
to staff the Roman Inquisition

1243-1256

Pope
Innocent IV consolidates OSA (Order of Saint Augustine)

1314

Knights
Templar disbanded

1318

Order
of Christ succeeds Knights Templar

1323

Pope John
XXII opposes doctrine of apostolic poverty

1328

William of
Ockham excommunicated for Spiritual Franciscan views

"All manner of thing shall be well/ When the tongues of flame are in-folded/ Into
the crowned knot of fire/ And the fire and the rose are one." -- T.S. Eliot, Little
Gidding